Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the . . . Continue reading →
In 2008, Mike Horton called attention to the phenomenon of a radically subjective turn in American evangelicalism, in Christless Christianity. Unfortunately, a single book diagnosing the deep sickness of American evangelical Christianity was not enough to turn the tide. In that volume, Mike . . . Continue reading →
Since the literal sense is that which the author intends, and since the author of Holy Writ is God, Who by one act comprehends all things by His intellect, it is not unfitting, as Augustine says (Confess. xii), if, even according to . . . Continue reading →
When many Christians think about the Reformation, they do not think about the distinction between law and gospel. Indeed, it is a truism for not a few modern Reformed folk that the distinction between law and gospel is solely a Lutheran conviction. . . . Continue reading →
Many English (and Dutch) speaking Christians have a particular affection for and connection to that varied and complex movement known as Puritanism, usually described in this space as English Reformed theology. One of the English Reformed theologians to whom my friend Paul . . . Continue reading →
In this space I have been very critical of American public education and rightly so. It was a flawed system from its beginnings in the nineteenth century (which probably did a better job of educating students than its intellectual foundations even intended) . . . Continue reading →
In the English Standard Version, Acts 16:25 says “[a]bout midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them…”. Several other translations (e.g., NASB, NIV, TEV, ASV, RSV, NLT, NKJV, HCSB) follow this or a . . . Continue reading →
Tis the season. Continue reading →
This essay was written before I published Recovering the Reformed Confession (2008), which, remarkably and quite unexpectedly, remains in print. In it, I interacted with a book review published in Christianity Today which serves as a symbol of the way Pietists and modern evangelicals . . . Continue reading →
In 1996, the United States Senate passed and President Bill Clinton signed into law the “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA). The bill said, No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to . . . Continue reading →
The two principal reasons the Heidelblog exists (and its parent organization, the Heidelberg Reformation Association) are, first, to encourage Reformed confessing Christians to recover their confession, i.e., both the confessional documents but also the broader and classic Reformed theology, piety, and practice, . . . Continue reading →
When the essay first appeared, the controversy over Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT) was still relatively fresh. Reformed leaders (e.g., Mike Horton, R. C. Sproul, James M. Boice, and W. Robert Godfrey, et al.) had responded to ECT by forming the Alliance . . . Continue reading →
How often should a Reformed congregation observe holy communion? This question has occasionally troubled Reformed churches. Most of the evidence suggests that the ancient church observed communion weekly. John Calvin wanted to celebrate communion weekly but the Genevan city council refused him . . . Continue reading →
When the minister consecrates (i.e., sets apart for sacred use) the elements of the Lord’s Supper (i.e., bread and wine), what happens? Does the substance of the elements change? Does the bread become something other than it was? Does it become the . . . Continue reading →
Sometimes… Continue reading →
One of the most interesting bits of Oxford history is the story of the Oxford Martyrs and the statue by which they are remembered. The history of the monument itself is fascinating. In 1833, John Henry Newman (1801‑90), an Anglican priest, began . . . Continue reading →
Princeton Theological Seminary was established with the intention of combining excellent scholarship with an intelligent, hearty commitment to the Reformed theology, piety, and practice summarized in the Reformed confessions. It has not always been easy to maintain that marriage. Princeton Seminary was . . . Continue reading →
I do not follow Australian rules football, the career of Australian pastor Guy Mason, or that of television presenter Ryan Kochie but, a month ago, they collided on Australian television. Andrew Thorburn is a banker who has a lay leadership role in . . . Continue reading →
Ever have a “light on” moment? Continue reading
For the first time ever in English, the Classic Reformed Theology Series is proud to present a treatise by Theodore Beza (1519-1605), a section from the Syntagma of Amandus Polanus (1561-1610), and an academic disputation by Francis Turretin (1623-1687) on the doctrine of justification. Continue reading →
